For courses in Introduction to Criminal Justice

The gold standard for criminal justice texts
Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction, Twelfth Edition, offers a contemporary, authoritative look at crime in America with a focus on police, courts, and corrections. To make information resonate with students, Schmalleger asks readers to consider the balance between freedom and security issues and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the American justice system as it adapts to cultural, political, and societal changes. A wealth of Internet resources along with author tweets (@schmalleger) extends chapter material and provides up-to-the minute information on this ever-evolving field. Its unifying theme, unmatched timeliness, and coverage of trends and technology make this text the standard by which all other brief texts are judged.

Criminal Justice, Twelfth Edition is also available via Revel™, an interactive learning environment that enables students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Learn more.

Frank Schmalleger, Ph.D., is professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he is also recognized as Distinguished Professor. Dr. Schmalleger holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and The Ohio State University, having earned both a master’s (1970) and a doctorate in sociology (1974) from The Ohio State University with a special emphasis in criminology. From 1976 to 1994, he taught criminal justice courses at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. For the last 16 of those years, he chaired the university’s Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. As an adjunct professor with Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, Schmalleger helped develop the university’s graduate program in security administration and loss prevention. He taught courses in that curriculum for more than a decade. Schmalleger also taught in the New School for Social Research’s online graduate program, helping build the world’s first electronic classrooms in support of distance learning through computer telecommunications. An avid Web user and site builder, Schmalleger is also the creator of award-winning websites.

Frank Schmalleger is the author of numerous articles and many books, including the widely used Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (Pearson, 2017), now in its 14th edition; Juvenile Delinquency (with Clemens Bartollas; Pearson, 2017); Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction, 12th edition (Pearson, 2017); Criminal Law Today, 6th edition (with Daniel Hall and John Dolatowski; Pearson, 2017); Crime and the Justice System in America: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997); Trial of the Century: People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson (Prentice Hall, 1996); Career Paths: A Guide to Jobs in Federal Law Enforcement (Regents/Prentice Hall, 1994); Computers in Criminal Justice (Wyndham Hall Press, 1991); Criminal Justice Ethics (Greenwood Press, 1991); Finding Criminal Justice in the Library (Wyndham Hall Press, 1991); Ethics in Criminal Justice (Wyndham Hall Press, 1990); A History of Corrections (Foundations Press of Notre Dame, 1983); and The Social Basis of Criminal Justice (University Press of America, 1981). Schmalleger is also founding editor of the journal Criminal Justice Studies (formerly The Justice Professional).

Schmalleger’s philosophy of both teaching and writing can be summed up in these words: “In order to communicate knowledge, we must first catch, then hold, a person’s interest—whether a student, colleague, or policymaker. Our writing, our speaking, and our teaching must be relevant to the problems facing people today, and they must–in some way–help solve those problems.”

PART 1: Crime in America
1. What Is Criminal Justice?
2. The Crime Picture
3. Criminal Law
PART 2: Policing
4. Policing: Purpose and Organization
5. Policing: Legal Aspects
6. Policing: Issues and Challenges
PART 3: Adjudication
7. The Courts
8. The Courtroom Work Group and the Criminal Trial
9. Sentencing
PART 4: Corrections
10. Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections
11. Prisons and Jails
12. Prison Life
PART 5: The Juvenile Justice System
13. Juvenile Justice